PropertyNow is committed to keeping home owners and landlords up to date on the constantly evolving regulations and how best to handle these difficult situations.Given the current state of the rental market under coronavirus, and the subsequent inability of their tenants’ to cover the rent...

Should You Sell Your Property During Coronavirus/Covid-19?

As the impact of Coronavirus/ Covid 19 begins to settle in, many of you are feeling anxious about property prices and whether it’s a viable time to sell. The question, Should I sell my property now," looms large.

While the media is filled with doom and gloom only adding to seller anxiety, we’ve put together some reassuring information to remember during these uncertain times.

Interest rates are at an all-time low

The Reserve Bank has cut the cash rate to a record low of 0.25%. And many banks have already passed on the full rate cut to their home loan customers, including all four major banks – ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac.

With the RBA promising to hold this cash rate until significant rises in employment and when inflation is within the 2-3% target band, interest rates are expected to remain low for quite some time.

While buyer enquiries are down, so are seller enquiries

The consensus from real estate professionals (according to a survey conducted by CoreLogic between 20-22 March), is that both buyer and seller enquiries have dropped by half. So, while it’s true there may be fewer buyers in the market, your competition is also significantly reduced. There'll be fewer properties on the market giving your home a greater chance to stand out.

Government stimulus focused on boosting the economy

The government has allocated some $189 billion to stimulate the economy, including support to businesses to keep people employed and a $90 billion lifeline to banks to go out and lend money at a very cheap interest rate. This will ease pressure on existing mortgage payers, but also play its part in increasing buyer confidence.

Banks providing relief to home loan customers

As banks are under increasing pressure to do their part in relieving financial strain, many are offering several incentives to support home loan customers. These include deferring repayments for up to 6 months and reducing repayments to the minimum monthly repayment amount. This will ease mortgage relief to those refinancing to buy another property or for buyers considering entering the market.

The Australian economy is well placed to ride out the storm

While it’s inevitable we’re heading for some uncertain times, we’re placed better than many countries to steer our way through this crisis. As RBA Governor Lowe said last week, “Australia has a strong financial system which is well placed to provide the needed support to businesses and households. The system has strong capital and liquidity positions and our financial systems have invested heavily in their resilience.”

First homebuyers back in business

Thanks to the new Australian government first home buyer scheme, increased financial support and all-time low-interest rates, there will be many first homebuyers still in a strong position to buy. If your property is suited to this target audience, you could have a strong incentive to sell.

History offers hope

Australia’s property and housing markets have traditionally fared relatively well during economic shock. For example, Australian property prices actually inclined after the 1987 Black Monday share market crash because so many investors switched from shares to property.

Share market losses and recessions are not necessarily predictors of property declines.

Resources for selling your home during Covid 19/ Coronavirus

So, should you sell your property during the Coronavirus? If you decide the answer is, "yes," our team has put together a series of articles and resources to help you.

Plus, more information to come as the real estate industry adapts to the new demands of business during this time.

What PropertyNow is doing to help

PropertyNow is committed to supporting you to successfully sell your house during coronavirus. Our team remains on hand to answer your questions and give you the vital assistance you need 7 days a week.

By selling privately through us, you’ll save expensive agent commissions while taking full advantage of remote restrictions during isolation. We’ve also put in place a few important incentives that will give you greater flexibility during this uncertain period:

No time pressure to sell. Your listing will remain on all the major real estate websites until sold.

Pause your listing at any time for free (for up to 12 months or without time limit for exceptional circumstances).

Remote and safe. We have all the tools and systems in place to get your home in front of the right buyers in a 100% virtual capacity, if that’s what it comes down to.

Pay with Zip Pay from as little as $10 and protect your cashflow if finances are tight.